First lady stumps in Wausau for Wisconsin's electoral votes

Oct. 19, 2012

First lady Michelle Obama greets members of the crowd before speaking at UWMC Friday. / Dan Young/Wausau Daily Herald

First lady Michelle Obama makes a point as the spoke at UWMC. / Dan Young/Wausau Daily Herald

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WAUSAU — With the race for president tight in Wisconsin, first lady Michelle Obama fought for Wisconsin’s 10 critical electoral votes today.

Appearing in a University of Wisconsin Marathon County Fieldhouse, she said everything is at stake in November and the choices are clear.

“Barack Obama knows the American dream because he has lived it, and he’s been fighting every day so everyone can have that same opportunity no matter who we are or where we are from or what we look like or who we love,” she said.

This was the first lady’s third visit to Wisconsin in recent weeks, and on Friday, her remarks targeted key voting groups: women and young voters.

“When it comes to standing up for the lives of women, when it comes to understanding what we go through fighting for our rights and opportunities, let me tell you, this man will always have our backs,” she said.

Obama talked about her personal experience with student debt and said, “Barack and I have been there. That is why Barack worked to ensure that Pell Grant funding was doubled and he fought hard to keep interest rates down on student loans.”

While Obama easily carried Wisconsin in 2008, recent polling has showed he faces a much more difficult race this year. A Marquette University Law School poll Wednesday showed him up just one point over Republican Nominee Mitt Romney amongst likely voters, 49 percent to 48 percent. A Thursday NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist College survey found Obama with a 51-45 point Wisconsin lead.

“The president really wants this state, there isn’t any question,” said Dennis Riley, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “(The visits) are a clear indication of how much the president wants to win this state because he was well ahead (before), he’s only marginally ahead now.

“He needs to block off Mitt Romney’s various paths through the Electoral College.”

The first lady appealed to the crowd — 980 people, plus 600 more in an overflow room — at Friday’s rally to vote early, when early voting starts Monday. And she asked the audience to encourage others to vote for her husband, noting that an election can be decided by just a few votes in each ward.

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“Are we going to just sit back and watch everything that we have worked for and fought for just slip away?” Obama asked. “Or are we going to keep moving forward?”

An important part of the strategy involves engaging college-aged voters.

Friday was the latest in a string of Wisconsin campus visits as the Obama campaign targets young voters who heavily vote Democratic.

Michelle Obama’s last Wisconsin visit was to Lawrence University; her husband recently campaigned at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and on Friday, former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to appear at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. And that’s just a few of the campus campaign stops.

“The president is very dependent in swing states, especially on new voters, college-aged voters,” said Arnold Shober, an associate professor of government at Lawrence University. “He knows that this is the age demographic that is most likely to support him ­ — look at any of the polls.

“He needs them to turn out to vote, because they are also the least likely to turn out to vote.”

On the UWMC campus, students demonstrated a mix of enthusiasm and apathy.

“Between the two candidates, Obama has policies that reflect some of my values, such as education and health care,” she said. “Obviously, being a student, (I’ve seen) increases in the cost of tuition over time.”

Bredeck said she thinks students on her campus are more interested with the race than they are with local politics, but she acknowledged it’s hard to get some young voters engaged.

“The voter turnout between 18 and 24 is typically very low,” she said. “Seeing that, and knowing that, (the campaign is) maybe going to do something different this time around.”

Ryan Boggs said he attended the rally simply because, “I’ve never seen a famous celebrity before.”

But will Obama get his vote? No. And neither will Romney, or anyone else.

“I don’t agree with either of the candidates on all of the issues,” said Boggs, 18. “I wouldn’t feel right voting for either of them.”

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Michelle Obama is a persuasive campaigner, observers said.

Shober said the campaigns use first ladies to campaign because, generally, they have higher approval ratings than their husbands.

“It’s much more difficult for the opposing campaign to attack either Ann Romney or Michelle Obama,” he said. “Having the Obama campaign dispatch Michelle Obama helps two things. One, she is really kind of impossible to criticize without looking kind of cheap, and she is supposed to bring kind of a positive feeling to swing Wisconsin voters.”

Riley said Michelle Obama is a strong, commanding figure who is a role model for a lot of women.

“I think she’s really a terrific surrogate,” he said. “If she weren’t, she wouldn’t be quite as visible.”

The first lady told the crowd in closing that it has every reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead. She said, “We will not turn back now.